From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.text.pandoc/33103 Path: news.gmane.io!.POSTED.blaine.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: BP Jonsson Newsgroups: gmane.text.pandoc Subject: Explaining Markdown and Pandoc to Normal People Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2023 20:36:25 +0200 Message-ID: Reply-To: pandoc-discuss-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000001eff720605199bc7" Injection-Info: ciao.gmane.io; posting-host="blaine.gmane.org:116.202.254.214"; logging-data="32252"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@ciao.gmane.io" To: pandoc-discuss Original-X-From: pandoc-discuss+bncBDIY76M674FRBNN47WTQMGQERV7ZWGA-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org Mon Sep 11 20:36:42 2023 Return-path: Envelope-to: gtp-pandoc-discuss@m.gmane-mx.org Original-Received: from mail-wm1-f59.google.com ([209.85.128.59]) by ciao.gmane.io with esmtps (TLS1.3:ECDHE_RSA_AES_128_GCM_SHA256:128) (Exim 4.92) (envelope-from ) id 1qflm5-00088z-P3 for gtp-pandoc-discuss@m.gmane-mx.org; 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[2a00:1450:4864:20::52e]) by gmr-mx.google.com with ESMTPS id bu29-20020a056000079d00b0031aca87d8f3si557037wrb.0.2023.09.11.11.36.35 for (version=TLS1_3 cipher=TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 bits=128/128); Mon, 11 Sep 2023 11:36:35 -0700 (PDT) Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of bpjonsson-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org designates 2a00:1450:4864:20::52e as permitted sender) client-ip=2a00:1450:4864:20::52e; Original-Received: by mail-ed1-x52e.google.com with SMTP id 4fb4d7f45d1cf-5280ef23593so5748620a12.3 for ; Mon, 11 Sep 2023 11:36:35 -0700 (PDT) X-Received: by 2002:a50:ed03:0:b0:521:a4bb:374f with SMTP id j3-20020a50ed03000000b00521a4bb374fmr8830192eds.5.1694457395083; Mon, 11 Sep 2023 11:36:35 -0700 (PDT) X-Original-Sender: bpjonsson-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org X-Original-Authentication-Results: gmr-mx.google.com; dkim=pass header.i=@gmail.com header.s=20221208 header.b=CX5SA7VF; spf=pass (google.com: domain of bpjonsson-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org designates 2a00:1450:4864:20::52e as permitted sender) smtp.mailfrom=bpjonsson-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org; dmarc=pass (p=NONE sp=QUARANTINE dis=NONE) header.from=gmail.com Precedence: list Mailing-list: list pandoc-discuss-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org; contact pandoc-discuss+owners-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org List-ID: X-Google-Group-Id: 1007024079513 List-Post: , List-Help: , List-Archive: , List-Unsubscribe: , Xref: news.gmane.io gmane.text.pandoc:33103 Archived-At: --0000000000001eff720605199bc7 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I mentioned Markdown and Pandoc in the comment section of a Quora answer dealing with the ancient practice of typing two spaces after a sentence. The author of the answer, who apparently is an editor but not a (computer) nerd asked me what Pandoc/Markdown are. My reply (which if I may say so is a rather succinct explanation aimed at Normal People) is below. Feel free to use it as/if you like (as in: I hereby place it in the public domain to the extent that that is possible in my juridiction!) **** Short answer: things computer nerds prefer over word processors. Long (and totally nerdy! =F0=9F=98=81) answer: Markdown is a somewhat varying set of markup conventions for representing things like headings, boldface, italics, lists and the like in plaintext (think Notepad) using punctuation characters. Computer nerds like me prefer plaintext because it has been around since forever, is still going strong, is maximally portable and can be opened and edited by many different editing programs on any platform (like Windows, Mac, Linux and other obscure/obsolete systems which some computer nerds still use.) Plaintext files take up minimal "space" to store and can be opened/read/edited/printed even decades after the editing program or even platform they were created with has ceased to exist, unlike word processor files which are bound to the program or even program version they were created with. The main limitation of plaintext is that it fundamentally only can contain unstyled characters, much like with typewriters. The idea behind Markdown and other markup conventione is that a computer program can convert the plaintext containing Markdown markup to formats with styles. Originally the only target format was HTML, which is used for Web pages. HTML is itself a markup format but considerably less readable than Markdown because it uses both words and punctuation for markup. Pandoc is a computer program which can convert between several markup formats including but not limited to Markdown and HTML, but also to and from Word DOCX and ODT the format used by LibreOffice which is the most used word processor on Linux, and to PDF by producing more specialized markup formats and feeding them to other programs. It also lets you create and use filters which can apply various transformations to a text, search and replace "on steroids" as computer nerds say. You could for example swap boldface and italics throughout a document --- good luck trying to do that with word's search and replace. Typically you "tag" paragraphs and runs of text in a relatively unobtrusive way so that a filter can apply arbitrary target format dependent styling to them. The main advantages of this approach apart from portability (in my case between phones, pads and laptops, and Pandoc runs on all of them!) is that Markdown is relatively distraction free: there are no font faces, font sizes, margins and the like while editing which keeps you focused on the actual content, the essentials. The adage is that rather than the word processor/graphical interface way of What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG, pronounced "wizzywig") this is What You Get Is What You Mean (WYGIWYM "wiggywim"). With Pandoc it is dead easy to produce versions of the same document for web and print, and also to exchange documents with people using word processors. In short Pandoc helps keeping me, my clients and the printer and the archivist all happy! --=20 You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "= pandoc-discuss" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an e= mail to pandoc-discuss+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/= pandoc-discuss/CAFC_yuTEELmvQ_%3DqO44BieJQJ4iPV_oBEYAF1roPdgtUrtrm8w%40mail= .gmail.com. --0000000000001eff720605199bc7 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
I mentioned Markdown and Pandoc in the = comment section of a Quora answer
dealing with the a= ncient practice of typing two spaces after a sentence.
The author of the answer, who apparently is an editor but not a
(computer) nerd asked me what Pandoc/Markdown are. My reply = (which if I
may say so is a rather succinct explanat= ion aimed at Normal People) is
below. Feel free to u= se it as/if you like (as in: I hereby place it in
th= e public domain to the extent that that is possible in my
juridiction!)

****=

Short answer: things co= mputer nerds prefer over word processors.

=
Long (and totally nerdy! =F0=9F=98=81) answer:

Markdown is a somewhat varying set= of markup conventions for
representing things like = headings, boldface, italics, lists and the like
in p= laintext (think Notepad) using punctuation characters.

Computer nerds like me prefer plaintext beca= use it has been around since
forever, is still going= strong, is maximally portable and can be opened
and= edited by many different editing programs on any platform (like
Windows, Mac, Linux and other obscure/obsolete systems which s= ome
computer nerds still use.) Plaintext files take = up minimal "space" to
store and can be ope= ned/read/edited/printed even decades after the
editi= ng program or even platform they were created with has ceased to
exist, unlike word processor files which are bound to the prog= ram or
even program version they were created with.<= /div>

The main limitation of p= laintext is that it fundamentally only can
contain u= nstyled characters, much like with typewriters. The idea behind
Markdown and other markup conventione is that a computer progra= m can
convert the plaintext containing Markdown mark= up to formats with styles.
Originally the only targe= t format was HTML, which is used for Web pages.
HTML= is itself a markup format but considerably less readable than
Markdown because it uses both words and punctuation for markup.<= /div>

Pandoc is a computer pro= gram which can convert between several markup
format= s including but not limited to Markdown and HTML, but also to and
from Word DOCX and ODT the format used by LibreOffice which i= s the most
used word processor on Linux, and to PDF = by producing more specialized
markup formats and fee= ding them to other programs. It also lets you
create= and use filters which can apply various transformations to a
text, search and replace "on steroids" as computer nerd= s say. You could
for example swap boldface and itali= cs throughout a document --- good
luck trying to do = that with word's search and replace. Typically you
"tag" paragraphs and runs of text in a relatively unobtrusive = way so
that a filter can apply arbitrary target form= at dependent styling to
them.

The main advantages of this approach apart fro= m portability (in my case
between phones, pads and l= aptops, and Pandoc runs on all of them!) is
that Mar= kdown is relatively distraction free: there are no font faces,
font sizes, margins and the like while editing which keeps you f= ocused
on the actual content, the essentials. The ad= age is that rather than the
word processor/graphical= interface way of What You See Is What You Get
(WYSI= WYG, pronounced "wizzywig") this is What You Get Is What You Mean=
(WYGIWYM "wiggywim"). With Pandoc it is d= ead easy to produce versions of
the same document fo= r web and print, and also to exchange documents with
people using word processors. In short Pandoc helps keeping me, my
clients and the printer and the archivist all happy!
<= div dir=3D"auto">

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups &= quot;pandoc-discuss" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an e= mail to pand= oc-discuss+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://group= s.google.com/d/msgid/pandoc-discuss/CAFC_yuTEELmvQ_%3DqO44BieJQJ4iPV_oBEYAF= 1roPdgtUrtrm8w%40mail.gmail.com.
--0000000000001eff720605199bc7--